The Wrong Side of the Bed
by Poison Rose
Summary: Zach is in trouble. Big trouble. And it's only going to get worse from here. Zach/ OC First Sky High fic! Constructive reviews really make my day: Rated for future chapters.
1. Chapter 1

**The Wrong Side of the Bed**

**Disclaimer**: Sky High isn't mine at all, sad to say.

**Summary**: This isn't Zach's room... and why is there a sleeping girl next to him? Is it time to panic yet?

**Note **1: Not a Zach/ Magenta fic, although I do like the pairing.

**Note** 2 : This is my first Sky High fic... not quite sure how it'll turn out, but by all means let me know what you think. Constructive criticism only, please.:)

**KKKKKK**

The first thing that hits Zach when he wakes up is that this isn't his room.

He knows he's got something of a reputation as a spaz, but even he can't miss the fact that the walls are lavander.

Never in his life would he be caught dead with lavander walls.

It's bad enough that he's suffered endless teasing for his 'flourescent fetish' as Magenta likes to call it; he doesn't need to start with the girly colours.

Not that Zach has anything against girly colours, it's just that they don't appeal to him.

The second thing he notices is that there's someone else in the bed with him.

Normally, most people would panic at this point, but Zach isn't like most people. He'll assess the situation, then panic if the need calls for it.

He's here, in an unknown room, in an extremely comfortable bed. While he knows he should be concerned that he can't remember where he is or how he got here, he still doesn't panic.

It occurs to him that he could simply end all the suspense by turning over to see who's next to him, and it's his intention to do just that, but then the third realisation hits him.

He's stark naked.

Well... huh.

That's... different.

Suddenly, he's not sure he wants to know what happened last night.

He takes a glance around the section of the room that he can see from his position on his side and realises he can't find any trace of his clothes.

There's a tiny bit of panic starting to set in now, but he wills himself to calm down and to assess the situation.

Logic suggests that he should get up and search for the clothes, but he doesn't want to risk waking the sleeping person in the bed next to him.

It's their room after all, and he doesn't want to be a bad guest by interrupting a good sleep.

It occurs to him that it's completely insane to be thinking about things like that when there are obviously more pressing issues at hand, but he dismisses the thought.

He's still trying to decide what to do when the body next to him shifts and drapes an arm over his torso.

Zach tenses, waiting for the owner of the arm to wake up, but she - thank goodness it's a she- just snuggles up to him and keeps right on sleeping.

He's so caught up between blushing and still trying to figure out what's going on that It takes a while for the fourth realisation to sink in.

The body pressing against his is stark naked as well.

His eyes widen at the realisation and he notices with dismay that he's getting really turned on.

He glances at the arm and his heart skips a beat.

It's a beautiful arm, slender, dark, contrasting against his own pale skin quite nicely. The nails are long and French, and suddenly he has difficulty breathing because he knows who that arm belongs to.

He's figured out who this room belongs to.

And he's figured out that he'd better get the hell away from here before she wakes up, or someone's going to die, and he doesn't want that someone to be him.

Peace is going to have his head on a platter.

_Shit. He's going to kill me. _

His mind starts racing with plans of what to do first.

He needs to get to Will's house. Will might be able to protect him, at least for a little while.

"Zach?"

_Oh shit._

The voice is still sleepy, and a little confused.

"Uh..."

_Oh yes, Zach. Smooth. Real smooth._

"What time is it?"

Taken completely offguard by the normalness of the question, he checks his watch.

"7:30." he says, proud to be able to say something coherent even as he's hyperventilating on the inside. He can feel himself glowing.

And annoyingly, he can feel himself getting harder.

He needs to get out of here now.

Gently taking her hand off of him, he sits up and looks at her for the first time.

He regrets the action as soon as he takes it, because her eyes are drawing him in. They're big and dark and... he realises what she's doing before she herself does and when she does, he can see that she's completely mortified.

It makes him feel like a complete moron.

She scrambles off the bed, grabbing up the sheet- the lavender sheet- to cover herself and looking at him in terror.

"Oh no... Zach... what are you doing here? I didn't..."

She seems unable to finish the sentence, but he can read her like a book by now, and he knows he has to reassure her, somehow.

"No, you didn't, you couldn't, you're not that way." his voice comes out surprisingly steady for a naked guy probably in the last hour of his existence.

Zach's gentlemanly side wars with his need for self preservation and as he tried to calm her down.

She starts crying, and if that isn't an indication of how bad things are going to get, he doesn't know what is.

He stares at her, willing himself to remember last night, to remember anything that will make her stop blaming herself.

Running a hand through his blond hair, he steps foward trying to get her to look him in the eye.

"Lynn..."

"I forced you to be here, didn't I?"

Her voice is small, so small, and he notices that she's staring at the floor.

It's so unlike her that it makes his stomach twist.

"That's why you can't remember anything. I must have..."

"Stop it."

The words are firm and he can't believe they came out of his mouth, but apparently they did, because she's looking in his direction again.

"I said stop it. Look, I'd be lying if I said I knew how we got here, but I'm sure you didn't force me to do anything." He looks away shyly, willing his erection to go down.

"That's not who you are."

Zach is growing increasingly impressed with how well he's handling the situation when a voice interrupts him.

Her father's voice.

_Oh, crap. Could this get any worse?_

"Angel?"

"Yes, daddy?" she manages after what seemed to him like an eternity.

"Your friend Warren's here to see you."

_Yes. Yes it can._

Zach whimpers.

He's going to die, he knows it.

**KKKKKKKKKKKKKK**

**Ok, let me know what you think! I've got a few more chapters in mind, but I want to know what you think of this one first. Thanks!:)**


	2. Chapter 2

**The Wrong Side of the Bed**

**Disclaimer:** Disney's, not mine.

**Summary: **Zach's in trouble. Big trouble.

**Note: **I've decided to do this story in a flashback sort of style. I'm aware that this can be confusing to some, so what I've done is put 'present' for the present (original, I know lol) and 2005 for the past.

And the 'present' is early 2007.

Most things will probably be from Zach's POV, but I may do one or two others occasionally.

**KKKKKK**

**2005 **

The first time he'd seen her, she'd reminded him of Layla.

Not that she looked anything like his friend- they didn't even dress alike- but there was something in the way she carried herself that reminded him of Layla.

She's transferred in the middle of his freshman year at Sky High, but he could tell that she wasn't a freshman.

She walked like she knew what she was doing and where she was going, and if he followed her just to make sure she got where she was going... well, it wasn't weird at all.

When he saw her hesitate in front of the gym, he felt a swell of sympathy for her, and decided to calm her fears.

Power placement was a scary thing for any new kid, freshman or not.

"It's really not that bad," he'd said, by way of introduction.

She'd looked up at him, startled, then looked away, but there was a small smile on her face.

Her eyes. She had beautiful almond shaped eyes.

"I just think the whole idea is stupid, you know? Powers alone shouldn't determine who's a hero and who's in Hero Support."

He'd laughed, then. She really was like Layla.

"I agree." He stuck out his hand. "I'm Zach."

She shook her head, still looking worried, but shook his hand anyway.

"My name is... Ryu Lynn."

She'd said it softly and he instantly wondered why, but figured then wasn't the time to press it.

"You a sophmore?"

She shook her head.

"Junior."

He'd smiled. In all likelihood, she'd forget about him, but he was still glad he'd met her.

The bell had rung, and he'd tried to give her an encouraging smile.

"It'll be fine."

"Thanks."

As he'd watched her walk into the gym behind the others in power placement that morning, he knew.

She was going to be a Hero.

**KKKKKKKK**

**Present**

Right now, Zach wishes he was anywhere but here.

It'd be a shame to get his blood on the walls.

She seems to realise his train of thought, because she throws the sheet at him - he averts his gaze from her body politely, but can't help but notice the small tattoo on the curve of her hip- and ushers him towards what appears to be a closet.

Somehow, he manages to surpress a wave of amusement at how cliche this situation is turning out to be.

"Um..."

"When I close the door, press the light switch. It'll take you to the basement. There's a basket of my dad's old clothes there. Dress. Then walk out the door and get as far away as you can."

She's still not looking at him, but he pauses and hesitantly places a hand on her shoulder.

"Lynn? Stop blaming yourself."

He has to make sure she'll be ok.

She just shakes her head and closes the door.

He sighs.

**KKKKKKKK**

**2005**

It didn't take long for him to find out why she'd been so quiet about her name.

By lunch, the halls were practically buzzing with the news.

Not only was she Eve's daughter, she had her mother's powers.

She had the siren song; and therefore, power over every male at the school, superpowered or otherwise.

She also apparently had power over the girls as well, a repelling power that gave them killer migraines. Magenta was immune, but only when she shifted, because apparently, animals weren't affected.

Needless to say, while being the the child of a notorious supervillain gave her a certain amount of notoriety, not many were interested in being her friend, something Zach thought of as a damned shame, because she was really nice, if a bit reserved.

He made sure to be friendly to her, and the others in his group followed his example.

She was always quiet around them, sort of like Warren, only less moody.

Lynn and Warren got along great; apparently, they'd met each other when visiting their respective parents in jail.

Unlike Baron Battle, the seductress Eve was only serving 5 years and had 3 more to go, but still Zach could tell that Lynn missed her mother.

He knew what that felt like.

**KKKKKK**

**Present**

Whatever Will had been expecting to see when he came downstairs Saturday morning, it hadn't been this.

Zach dressed in an oversized navy sweatsuit, sitting on his couch was not a normal sight. From when did his friend wear dark colours?

"Zach?"

The normally upbeat teen was quiet, and gave him a subdued smile, which was really when Will realised something was seriously off.

"Hey man, sorry to drop in like this, but I need to use your shower. Like, seriously."

Will raised an eyebrow but nodded to him.

"Sure... Zach what's wrong?"

Silence.

A warning tone entered Will's voice. "Zach... what happened?"

"Nothing... just... Warren's going to kill me and I need you to protect me, please?"

Both eyebrows rose this time.

The taller blond rambled on.

"I mean, I know you're only going to be able to protect me for a little while before he burns you to a crisp, but if you could just..."

"Zach!" Will interrupted, a truly worried look on his face.

"Zach, why do you think Warren's going to kill you?"

He was quiet for a while, and the superstrong teen thought he wasn't going to get an answer.

But then he heard one.

"I messed up, man. I messed up big time. And I can't even remember what happened!"

This made absolutely no sense to Will and he said so.

"I just came from Lynn's house."

"Siren? What the heck would you be doing there at this hour of the-"

"These are her dad's clothes. I... uh... put them on on my way out of the basement. I seem to have... misplaced mine."

Will wasn't sure what scared him more; what it sounded like Zach was saying, or the monotone voice in which the glow boy had said it.

"Well... fuck."

"Yeah, I know."

Will went through in his head a million different ways this scenario could play out, and none of them ended well.

"How long before Warren-"

"He's at her house now. I swear, he is going to kill me. I promised I wouldn't touch her. I swore I wouldn't."

Will could feel a headache starting at his temples.

"But you say you can't remember what happened last night, right?"

"Do I need to? We woke up naked! I mean, Lynn's amazing, and really pretty and I like her; and normally, I wouldn't object to... whatever it is that we did, but right now, I don't wanna die, and could you please protect me, I don't wanna die!"

Now Zach was starting to hyperventilate, which was not good, but it was at least something Will was accustomed to dealing with.

"Go get that shower. I'll think of something."

"How????" the taller boy all but wailed, and Will shot him a look.

"Did you come here for my help or what? Get going."

Sighing, the glow boy trudged upstairs.

Will let out a sigh of his own.

He wished he could write this off as one of Zach's exaggerations, but he knew Warren. Zach's fear was well founded.

He honestly saw no way to prevent a really ugly showdown from happening, but maybe he could slow it down.

He had a phone call to make.

**KKKKKK**

**2005**

It had been a full two weeks before the insults started.

Magenta had noticed first of course, shifters' senses were always magnified.

She'd mentioned it to him quietly, because she wasn't sure how Warren would have reacted and even though she acted tough, he knew she didn't want anyone's death on her conscience.

Lynn didn't complain, and sometimes he'd felt bad for her, but she seemed to be slowly relaxing around them, even if they were a group of (mostly) freshmen.

She seemed to have found her place.

Things had seemed to be going well until the day he'd heard Freeze Girl tormenting her; making cracks about her mother.

Now, Zach prided himself on being a pretty easygoing kind of guy, but some things truly irritated him, and that was people being mean for the sake of being mean.

At least Gwen Grayson had her reasons for doing what she did.

He'd gotten right into the ice queen's face- a pretty gutsy move for him- and told her to back the fuck off of his friend.

Dimly he'd been aware of Ethan melting into a puddle of goo next to him and Will's mouth hanging open.

He'd taken Lynn by the arm and steered her away from the small group of onlookers, trusting Will and Warren to be able to handle the ice witch.

Well, that had been the plan, anyway.

The resulting fight had gotten him a concussion and saw him, Will, Warren and the ice bitch in detention for a month, but he'd gotten a smile out of Lynn, so he figured he could deal.

**KKKKKKKK**

Hey, it's a little long, I know. Positive reviews are always welcome, as well as any suggestions.:) I know I've written Zach just a wee bit darker than I'm accustomed to seeing him written, but I've tried not to make him too unrecongnisable.


	3. Chapter 3

**The Wrong Side of the Bed**

**Disclaimer: **Disney's, not mine. I make no money from this story, sad to say.

**Summary: **Zach's in trouble. Warren's concerned. Siren's mortified. Will's having a really, really bad day.

Zach's 2 minutes into what's probably going to be the last shower of his life when memories from last night start to appear in his head.

His first thought is that this is great, because now he can convince Lynn that what happened isn't her fault.

Unfortunately, that thought is eclipsed by a wave of dizziness that causes him to sway on his feet, and he ends up sliding to the ground of the stall as the disjointed memories play themselves out behind his closed lids.

**ppppppppp**

_"You don't have to walk me home, Zach. I'm a big girl, I can take care of myself."_

_She's right, and he knows it, but he doesn't care. His mother may not have been around long, but she taught him to be a gentleman._

_Walking ladies home from work was part of the deal. Even if said lady was an ass kicking heroine that frankly made him look like a total wimp in comparison._

_"You're barely 5'4."_

_She glares at him, but there's no heat in it and he has to suppress a laugh._

_"Anyway... I thought your dad was back? Ever thought that maybe he'd like to spend some time with you before he heads back out in the morning?"_

_Zach gives her a warning look, and she holds up her hand in self defense._

_"Sorry."_

_He sighs._

_He likes to talk about his dad even less than she likes to talk about her mom, but he still feels like she deserves an explanation._

_"He's got a new girlfriend." he mumbles, trying to be blase about it._

_She's silent for a while and he tries not to think about what could be going through her mind._

_"You want to talk about it?"_

_No, he doesn't want to talk about it, but something in her voice reaches him._

_It's not pity, it's concern._

_He's touched._

_"Yes," he finds himself saying, and smiles a little when her eyes light up._

_**ppppppppp**_

It had been a stupid idea.

A really, really stupid idea.

They'd ended up alone, on a dark road, walking at a snail's pace, sometimes stopping to lean against a building or look up at the sky.

They hadn't seen the ambush they'd been walking into.

Zach's head is still spinning, and by now he's willing the memories to go away, but they keep coming with a relentless force.

pppppp

_Zach's taken up a protective stance in front of her and faces their would be attackers._

_Big, ugly fellows who look like even the Commander would have trouble getting rid of them._

_Despite his usual bravado, Zach's quite aware that he doesn't stand a snowball's chance in hell with these three men._

_Yeah, he's learned a bit of martial arts since being at Sky High, but he's not that good at it, and he doesn't like anything that involves being in close proximity with these guys._

_They could make a run for it, but he realises that he has no idea how many of these men there are. Yeah, he can see three but that's not to say they aren't more and he doesn't want them running into an even bigger ambush._

_He stalls._

_"Um... can we help you with something?"_

_He realises with a sickening feeling that they're all looking at Lynn, and starts to feel his temper rise._

_He spares glance over his shoulder at her and realises that she's terrified._

_Shit._

_The guys are talking now, spewing crap about just being helpful locals, but during their little speech he's searching for an escape route._

_He knows how powerful she can be if she puts her mind to it, but also knows how she feels about using her powers._

_She's terrified of becoming addicted to the power, of ending up like her mom._

_It's why she's made it her mission to learn to karate like it was going out of style- seriously, she could probably give Jetstream a run for her money at this point- but sometimes she'll just freeze up. _

_Like right now._

_"Here's the deal buddy. You let us have your little girlfriend, we'll let you go nice and easy. A win win situation all around. Whadaya say?"_

_Bevis in the middle's talking to him in a patronising voice that pisses him off almost as much as the implication of what he's saying does, and suddenly Zach doesn't care about escape anymore._

_He wants to fight._

_But he doesn't want her hurt._

At this point, Zach has managed to stumble out of the shower, though he hasn't much energy to do anything beyond grabbing a towel. He remembers what happens next, and it scares the crap out of him, because now he knows the problem is much bigger than he originally thought.

Will's knocking on the door, trying to find out how he's doing.

How's he doing?

Fine, just freakin' fine.

"What sort of a question is that?" he snaps, then cringes internally.

"Sorry, dude."

Will sighs on the other side of the door.

"It's okay. You can dress in my room. Mom washed the clothes you left here last week."

Zach's very grateful, Jetstream really is a good mother, and he knows she treats him like a son.

"Will? What are we going to do?"

The other boy sighs again.

"Just get dressed, ok?"

"I need to talk to Lynn." Zach says, but Will has already moved away from the door.

Warren's waiting patiently for Lynn to come downstairs when his cell rings.

Rolling his eyes, he answers.

"What?"

"Well good morning to you too."

"Is there a purpose to this call, Leafy?"

He can hear Layla's annoyance and he grins. She's fun to tease.

"Yes there is. I woke up today and thought, wouldn't it be lovely to get a headstart on that project?"

He blinks.

"You're serious."

"Yep. I'll be at the library in another 10 minutes, meet you there. Bye!"

Warren stifles a curse.

The girl is crazy, but he did promise to help her, something he's thoroughly regretting right about now.

"Hey."

He turns at the voice and sees Lynn coming down the stairs.

From the momment he sees her, alarms go off in his head. She looks like she's been crying, and her steps are shaky.

"What's wrong?" he asks, by way of introduction.

"Rough night," she says, not looking at him.

"That's not an answer, Lynn."

A pause.

"I... didn't sleep well. Too much going on in my head. Today is the 4th anniversary of mom going to jail, you know."

She's still not looking at him, and Warren is getting the distinct impression that there's more to this than she's saying.

At the same time, she's right. He knows what today is, is probably the only one of their friends who remembers.

It's heavy stuff, dealing with an incarcerated parent and he doesn't want to push her.

He'd actually come to see if she was okay, but now he could tell she clearly isn't.

Leaning foward to put a hand on her shoulder, he smiles a bit when she finally looks into his eyes.

"I know. You want to talk about it?"

She flinches.

"I... that's very sweet of you, Warren, but.. I... think I'd like to spend today alone."

Warren just looks at her.

"I promise not to get drunk again." she says in a small voice.

He just shakes his head.

"You've got 4 hours, and then I'm coming right back here."

When he sees the angry flare in her eyes, he feels alot better. If it's anything Lynn hates, it's people ordering her around.

That she has enough energy to do that makes him smile.

"I'll call," he says, and she reluctantly nods in agreement.

He doesn't see the relief on her face.

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Hey everyone, sorry about the very long wait... I really hate it when life gets in the way. I'm not finished yet, but I can't promise regular updates. Please review:)


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